Thursday’s Campaign Round-Up, 9.17.26: Ashley Hinson to skip JD Vance’s Iowa visit

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.

* JD Vance continues to hit the campaign trail in support of vulnerable congressional Republicans, but the vice president has been a little lonely of late during some of his appearances. In Maine, for example, Republican Sen. Susan Collins did not join Vance at a recent rally, and in Kansas, Republican Sen. Roger Marshall was also not on hand.

This week, the vice president is headlining a GOP rally in Iowa, but his party’s U.S. Senate hopeful, Rep. Ashley Hinson, won’t be there, citing previously scheduled events that she and her team neglected to identify.

* In Alaska’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, polling can be a little complicated because of the state’s unique top-four model, but a new AARP poll nevertheless found former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola with a 5-point advantage over incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.

* Months after Rep. Kevin Kiley said he would become an independent while caucusing with Republicans, the California congressman now says he does not plan to caucus with the GOP next year if he’s re-elected.

Left unsaid is why Kiley continues to caucus with Republicans now, and why Kiley waited to make this announcement until after the House had stopped all pre-election work.

* In Kansas’ increasingly interesting U.S. Senate race, former Republican Gov. Bill Graves had already endorsed the Rev. Adam Hamilton’s Democratic candidacy over incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall in a Kansas City Star op-ed, but this week, the former Kansas governor took an additional step, making a new video in support of Hamilton.

* On the generic congressional ballot, the latest Marquette Law School Poll found Democrats with an usually large advantage over Republicans, 54% to 41%. The latest Fox News poll showed the Democratic lead at 7 points, but among those who say they’re certain to vote, the lead is 10 points.

* In Ohio’s highly competitive gubernatorial race, the latest Bowling Green State University/YouGov poll found Dr. Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee, narrowly leading Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, 48% to 45%.

* And in Pennsylvania, amid reports that Sen. John Fetterman attended a retreat with key figures at Fox News, the Democratic senator reiterated again this week that he wouldn’t change parties. The comments came roughly a week after his surprise cameo at the Republican Party’s midterm convention.

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